Tyler Ulis eager to beat odds, earn spot with Warriors

1of5OAKLAND, CALIF - SEPT 24, 2018: Warriors Tyler Ulis, during the Warrior's media day in the team's practice facility in Oakland. Photo by John LeePhoto: John Lee / Special to The Chronicle

2of5PHOENIX, AZ - APRIL 08: Tyler Ulis #8 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball under pressure from Quinn Cook #4 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half of the NBA game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on April 8, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty Images

3of5Golden State Warriors' Kevon Looney blocks a shot attempt by Phoenix Suns' Tyler Ulis in 1st quarter during NBA game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, April 1, 2018.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

4of5FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2016, file photo, Kentucky guard Tyler Ulis (3) pushes the ball down court during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. Southeastern Conference coaches have picked Kentucky sophomore guard Tyler Ulis as the league's player of the year and defensive player of the year on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. (Photo: Sean Rayford / AP

During his two seasons at Kentucky, Tyler Ulis saw signs in opposing student sections telling him that he still needed a booster seat, nap time and the kid’s menu.

What those rival fans failed to realize, however, was that the 5-foot-10 guard had long stopped letting jokes about his height bother him. If anything, he was emboldened by the fact that he hadn’t let his diminutive frame limit his ambition.

Even now, with his NBA career on life support, Ulis is keeping perspective. This is a player who was a high-school varsity starter as a 5-foot-3 freshman, was the first sub-6-footer to suit up for Kentucky in nearly 50 years and almost became the shortest first-round pick since Muggsy Bogues in 1987. By comparison, the idea of making the Warriors’ roster off an Exhibit 10 contract doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

“I was a little surprised, but I understand you have to take things as they come,” Ulis, 22, said of getting waived by the Suns in June. “It’s a business. This hasn’t been the worst step in my journey. Things could be a lot worse.”

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In his two years with Phoenix, Ulis left little doubt that he is an NBA-caliber player, starting 58 games and boasting an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.7-to-1. With the Suns in full tank-mode, he averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 assists over last season’s final 10 games.

But after Phoenix cut him to free up salary-cap space, Ulis fielded no guaranteed contract offers. Last week, after nearly three months without a team, he chose Golden State over Exhibit 10 contracts from Houston and Sacramento.

Under the Exhibit 10, a new type of deal in the NBA’s latest collective bargaining agreement, Ulis would receive a bonus of up to $50,000 if he signs a contract with the Warriors’ G League affiliate after being waived by the parent club. If he impresses Golden State’s front office in preseason, his Exhibit 10 contract can be converted to the team’s lone remaining two-way contract by the start of the regular season.

Unlike 5-9 point guards Nate Robinson and Isaiah Thomas, who use their speed and quickness to create separation and score in bunches, Ulis relies on his vision, leadership and basketball IQ to lead an offense. Though he shot 38.8 percent from the field last season, he is a pick-and-roll threat adept at getting teammates the ball in spots where they can score quickly.

As a sophomore at Kentucky, Ulis broke the school’s season assist record set six years earlier by John Wall. That April, after watching him be named SEC Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and Bob Cousy Award winner, head coach John Calipari called Ulis “the best floor general (Kentucky) had since I’ve coached.” In other words, Calipari put Ulis’ ability to orchestrate an offense above that of Wall, Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe.

The question is whether Ulis will have a chance to showcase his playmaking on the Warriors.

With the team’s preseason opener Saturday against Minnesota, he is behind Stephen Curry, Shaun Livingston and Quinn Cook on the depth chart. Ulis’ dimensions make it tough for him to play anything other than point guard, and Golden State has a number of players — Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant — who can sub as secondary ball-handlers.

Interested in adding wing depth, Golden State invited swingmen Marcus Derrickson, Danuel House Jr., Alfonzo McKinnie and Kendrick Nunn to training camp. The odds of one of those four securing the team’s available two-way contract only spike if Patrick McCaw, who has yet to sign his qualifying offer of $1.7 million, continues to hold out.

Such long odds hardly faze Ulis, however. Defying expectations has become his specialty.

“I understand this team has won two championships in a row, but my time will come,” Ulis said. “I just have to wait it out, grind and work on my game.”

Connor Letourneau moved to the Golden State Warriors beat in September 2016 after a year covering Cal. Previously, he spent two years covering the Oregon State Beavers for The Oregonian. Letourneau is a University of Maryland alum who has interned for The Baltimore Sun and blogged for The New York Times. A Portland, Ore., native, he is interested in telling the stories that extend beyond the field or court.